Statement from EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock on Sen. Dean Heller’s Second Vote for the Ryan Budget

Heller said he was ‘proud’ to vote twice to end Medicare as we know it. EMILY’s List: “There are 170,200 women in Nevada who rely on Medicare. The word you wanted is ‘ashamed.’”

WASHINGTON -- Today, EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock released this statement on unelected Sen. Dean Heller's second vote in favor of the disastrous Ryan Budget.

"Over half of the Medicare recipients in Nevada are women who would be devastated by the high costs and lack of health care coverage included in the Ryan budget," said Stephanie Schriock. "Unelected Senator Dean Heller already said he was 'proud' to cast this disastrous vote twice -- once in the House and once in the Senate. There are 170,200 women in Nevada who rely on Medicare -- the word he wanted was 'ashamed.'

"Today's vote isn't going away before November. The EMILY's List community is energized to help elect Rep. Shelley Berkley and support her as she takes on Heller's radical agenda in 2012. What Heller did today was shameful and we won't let him -- or the women in Nevada -- forget it.”

Here is a breakdown of the effects the Ryan budget would have in Nevada:

• An increase of out-of-pocket health care costs for a typical 65 year-old Nevada senior by $5,862 in ten years -- more than double the current cost.
• 26,700 seniors would pay $15 million more for prescription drugs in 2012 alone under the Ryan budget.
• Nevada could lose at least 9,600 private-sector jobs over the next five years by turning Medicaid into a block grant program.
• In Nevada, the Ryan budget could cut $1.7 billion in federal health care funding for seniors and the disabled through Medicaid, including life-saving nursing home care.

In the 2009-2010 cycle, EMILY's List raised more than $38.5 million to support its mission of recruiting and supporting women candidates, helping them build strong campaigns, and mobilizing women voters to turn out and vote. With a community of more than 900,000 members across the country, EMILY's List is one of the largest political action committees in the nation. Since its founding in 1985, EMILY's List has worked to elect 85 pro-choice Democratic women to the U.S. House, 16 to the U.S. Senate, nine governors, and hundreds of women to the state legislatures, state constitutional offices, and other key local offices. In the 2009-2010 cycle, EMILY's List had the largest number of members and donors in our 25 year history.